Doctor Who: The Time Warrior
Starring Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen
BBC Video
Release date: April 1, 2008

The Doctor Who story The Time Warrior was a “first” in many ways. It was the first story of Jon Pertwee‘s final season on Doctor Who. It was the first pseudo-historical storyline pursued by the series since “The Gunfighters” in 1963. It included the first appearance of the Sontarans, who later appeared twice during the Tom Baker era, once during the Colin Baker era, and are scheduled to appear on the revived Doctor Who series on the BBC later this year. Finally, it introduced Sarah Jane Smith, one of the most beloved of the Doctor’s companions in the long history of the series. Sarah Jane went on to stay with the Doctor for over three seasons, had a spin-off pilot called K-9 and Company, returned to Doctor Who in the 2006 story “School Reunion,” and now stars in the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The four-episode story itself is based on a decent premise: a Sontaran scout named Linx becomes accidentally marooned in Medieval England. In order to repair his ship and return to the glorious war with the Rutans, he needs knowledge and materials well-beyond capabilities of the locals. Linx makes a deal with a local robber baron named Irongron (who has literally stolen a castle from its rightful owner) for space to repair his ship in exchange for matchlock or flintlock rifles. Linx uses an Osmic Projector to steal scientists and materials from the late 20th Century, which is the farthest point in the future his equipment will let him travel. UNIT gets the Doctor involved at that point, with the Doctor endeavoring to return the scientists to their proper time and prevent pollution of the Earth’s natural technological development.

The execution of that premise is a rather mixed bag. Casting is generally strong, with Kevin Lindsay doing well as Linx and David Daker creating a suitably nasty Irongron. The location work at Peckforton Castle, a Victorian country home and castle fantasy in Cheshire, England, also lends a lot to the story. Where things begin to fall apart is the staging. Nicholas Courtenay‘s Brigadier (generally an asset to the series) only has one short appearance at the beginning. The beginning is also where the Doctor meets Professor Rubeish, who is captured by Linx, but then appears to wander in and out of the plot for the rest of the story only as needed. Sarah Jane Smith stows away in the TARDIS and evidently takes no notice of the fact that it is much larger inside than out. The special effects are pretty much a complete washout — something that is both explained and fixed by the extras on the DVD.

The Special Features on this DVD are quite good. There is running commentary by Elisabeth Sladen (who plays Sarah Jane), episode producer Barry Letts, and episode script editor Terrance Dicks. The only person I could think to add to that trio is the late Jon Pertwee, who is unavailable for obvious reasons. The commentary explains a lot about why story director Alan Bromley made many of the choices he did (including the bad effects) and underlines a lot of Mr. Bromley’s strengths, which generally involve staging dialog. Most significantly, the DVD allows the insertion of newly created CGI effects to replace those originally used, and they are an asset. Finally, there is a short “making of” featurette with Letts and some of the other guest actors in the story that provides some background and additional “inside” material.

The Doctor Who: The Time Warrior DVD is worth a look by any serious Doctor Who fan. Its collection of “firsts” makes it an interesting point in the history of the series. The special features provide some excellent commentary and improves the impact of the story with some new CGI effects. Both provide for some strong Doctor Who entertainment.

The Sarah Jane Adventures air on the SciFi Channel Fridays from 8-9pm Eastern & Pacific.